Kitsune and Neko
by eilidhwasmyname
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War has finished, but not in the way that Naruto had hoped for. With Kakashi failing to kill the Masked Man, Iwa wishes to declare war on Konoha. Kitsune and Neko, an ANBU team, must do all they can to avoid such an outcome. Spoliers for the manga, so I wouldn't read if you don't want to know about character deaths/ the reveal of the Masked Man.
1. Prologue

Kitsune and Neko

~eilidhwasmyname

(disclaimer; if only I owned Naruto and I would have sorted many things out that I have issues with)

The figure seemed to fly through the trees, making barely a sound and leaving only a slightly breeze behind him. A second figure followed close behind the first, notably smaller in height but still able to keep pace. They both wore animal masks, silver armour and black trousers. The leader had a bandana to cover his hair.  
They ran on, jumping from branch to branch, faster than an untrained, and even some trained eyes, could hope to follow. The leading figure looked back, seeming to check on his companion only to stop dead, catching himself on a low hung branch. He put a hand behind him, palm facing towards his companion, signalling them to stop. He then turned his body to the side, giving them a clear view of both his hands, as he placed the heel of his left hand onto the top of his right wrist. Enemy.

His companion nodded, holding up 3 fingers, thumb holding down his middle finger. Eight enemies. The leader pointed to himself and the companion then held up four fingers, signalling that they were to each take four on. Easy enough.

Silence was the key; stealth was the way to survive.

Quiet as a breath, the leader disappeared, followed only by a small scuffle then silence. The companion smiled beneath the mask, copying the leader almost exactly; disappearing, scuffle, silence.

The leader came out into the open once more, blood visible on his armour, his gloved right hand dripping in the stuff. He shook his hand out, attempting to rid his hand of the liquid – blood was a pain in the ass to clean, even from black gloves. The companion wiped down the kunai they had used, keeping a watchful eye on their surrounding while staying acutely aware of the leader. He looked up, catching eyes with the companion, a wicked grin spreading unseen across his face. He brought up his bloodied hand, using it to curl a finger towards himself, signalling for the companion to come closed. They complied, unable to take their eyes off of him.

The power that radiated from him was unreal, making the hairs on the back on the companions neck raise. They took a deep break, slinking over to him, heart beat picking up in response to the ever present feeling of danger he emitted. He screamed danger, and it took everything the companion had to stop from running away. Learning the shinobi art for eleven years, a fully fledge ninja for the last seven years, ANBU for the last one and it still took everything the companion had to stop from forgetting all they had learned and running away, the instinct to survive leading the way.

The leader knew this. He also knew that his companion would never defy him. He lifted their mask – white cat mask , purple swirls – and stroked the face that was revealed. Red lips, slightly parted with each panting breath that was taken. Strong, high cheekbones, manicured eyebrows, and then the eyes; white, a hint of lavender, no pupil. A Hyuuga. The companion drew another breath, this time holding it in as the leaders hand travelled down their face, leaving a trail of red.

"Hinata," the leader wrapped his hand in her hair, which was hanging loose around her back, swinging freely, long enough to just touch the top of her bum. "Well done." The leader's voice was low and gravely, causing goose bumps to erupt on Hinata's arms.

The leader pushed his mask to the side, having it rest on the side of his head. Bright blue eyes, the colour of the clearest sky, whisker scars adorned his cheeks and an elongated tooth tugged at his bottom lip.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata's voice was barely more than a whisper, disappearing, taken away by the breeze that blew through the trees they were surrounded by. There wasn't much light, the moon attempting to light the ground but failing due to the many ominous clouds that littered the sky.

Naruto leaned in and lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that spoke more than words ever could. Dangerous and sexy; it drove Hinata wild.


	2. Chapter One

Kitsune and Neko - Chapter One

~eilidhwasmyname

(disclaimer; i seriously don't own Naruto. My Japanese is terrible and i'm not good enough at drawing .)

They arrived at their destination; Konoha. They had been on a month long mission, attempting to stave off the looming war against Iwagakure. Since the Shinobi Alliance had dissolved, something triggered by Hatake Kakashi's loyalty to his past friend Uchiha Obito, Iwa had been sending threats to Konoha, blaming the Village and Hatake clan for the loss of thousands of lives. Kakashi was in disgrace, barely ever leaving his flat that he shared with his partner of the last year Anko.

Naruto couldn't fault Kakashi as he knew that he would have done the same thing if he had been in that situation with Sasuke. Sasuke was his weak point, something he was working on fixing.

Their mission had been to kill select members of the Iwa Ninja's. They had, of course, succeeded. Naruto, at a 100% success rate for all missions, wasn't just a name anymore. Uzumaki -Namikaze Naruto; Konohagakure's best weapon, a living legend, and all the Hidden Villages knew it.

Naruto passed through the gates that surrounded his home village, Hinata close on his tail. They stopped at the hut that all departing and returning ninja had to pass to hand over their ID's.

UZUMAKI-NAMIKAZE NARUTO

ANBU – BLACKOPS

BLOOD TYPE: B

RANK: S

SPECIALTY: WIND JUTSUS; KYUUBI

-ASSASSIN-

HYUUGA HINATA

ANBU – BLACKOPS

BLOOD TYPE: A

RANK: A

SPECIALTY: GENTLE FIST; WATER JUTSUS

-TRACKER-

They passed with ease, making their way onto the roofs of the village. It was the fasted means of travel for shinobi and also meant that no civilian would notice their bloodied armour.

They arrived at the Hokage Tower within seconds of being granted entrance to the village. Konoha had changed, and not all for the better. After Pein's attack on the village, they had rebuilt and finally started to live with some normalcy, something they had been sorely missing. Since the end of the 4th Great Shinobi War, everything had changed. Tsunade had died, murdered by Uchiha Madara, despite her best efforts to heal herself. No one can survive being cut in half, not even the Senju Princess. Nara Shikamaru had taken the Hokage's seat, despite Naruto's nomination – he no longer wanted the responsibility of taking care of everyone in the village; he didn't believe himself strong enough anymore.

Ignoring the door based at the foot of the tower, both elite ANBU entered the Hokage's office through the window – something which never failed to piss Shikamaru off.

"Kitsune, Neko, I do have a door." The Rokudaime Hokage didn't glance up from his paperwork, but did raise a hand in acknowledgment. A half burnt cigarette hung limply in his mouth.

"Hokage-sama, Kitsune and Neko to report – mission success." Naruto, ever the professional, stood to attention, directly in front of Shikamaru, hands clasped behind his back. His mask was still on, his bandana still covering his blonde hair and dry blood still attached to his armour. Hinata stood behind, letting her superior handle the report.

"Good. That should hopefully hold things off for another few weeks. Gaara has been in contact and says he will back us up so that's a load off my shoulders." Shikamaru frowned and finally looked up to his friend and ANBU Captain. "Well done Kitsune, Neko, you can have the rest of the week off. I'll send you a message when the next mission comes up. Hopefully you'll actually get the week off this time and not be called sooner." A smile tugged at Shikamaru's lips and he waved a dismissal hand. "Go get drunk or something, it's the evening, always a good time to enjoy some sake." Naruto and Hinata bowed and preformed a shunshin, disappearing in a puff of smoke and leaves.

"Damn it. Aya! Get in here and clear that up?" Aya, Shikamaru's sectary, rushed in and frowned at the leaves.

"You need to tell your ninja to stop doing that in the office..." She sighed and proceeded to clear up.

Naruto appeared in his apartment, a small bedroom, kitchen that doubled as the sitting room, and a bathroom. Small, but perfect for him. He removed his mask – the mask was his prized possession. It was black, something that was alien in the ANBU where they used white masks. There was no pattern in this mask although it was clearly meant to represent a fox with the slits for eyes and large ears. Naruto loved his mask; it represented to him his skill and power as a ninja, and reminded him that he was nothing but a tool to be used by his leader, something that he strongly believed in now. If you are nothing but a tool, you do not get attached and therefore have no weakness– or at least that was the jinchuriki's philosophy.

Naruto, after seeing how loyalty can only fuck you over with Kakashi and Obito, had given up on the idea. He still cared for his friends, but he doubted he would mourn for long if one of them died. After the war, Naruto was constantly plagued with guilt – if only he had been stronger, if only he have been faster, if only – then maybe so many that had died would still be alive today. Joining the ANBU had helped. They taught how to suppress emotions, so that a shinobi could become as effective as possible, not to be distracted by stupid things like love, or friendship. At least, that was the ideal – it was much harder to achieve that Naruto had ever thought.

Hinata was Naruto's biggest source of guilt. He didn't know how he felt about her. She had protected him against Pein. She had kept him strong against Madara and Obito. She had been there for support when the Yondaime had been resurrected and Namikaze Minato had finally met his son properly for the first time. That had been the point where Naruto had almost broken – to see his father walking among the living with none other than Uchiha Sasuke with him. He didn't remember much of what happened, only that, according to Hinata and Sakura, Minato had given Naruto the other half of the Kyuubi's chakra, Minato had seen who Tobi really was and Sasuke had left again.

After everything that had happened, Hinata was still there for him. He cared for her and at the same time, tried to convince himself that she was nothing to him. She was a weakness, much like Sasuke. But then again, everyone had a guilty pleasure and at 19 years old, Hinata was a goddess. She was completely gorgeous and Naruto could hardly resist, especially after she had thrown herself at him. He was only human, half demon – whatever -, after all.

He placed his mask on his small kitchen table, flicking his kettle on to boil. A cup of tea with a healthy dash of sake was exactly what he needed right now. He left the kitchen, entering the door on his right and taking in the sight that was his bedroom. He had moved since his younger days and now lived in the same apartment block as Kakashi and Anko, along with many other ANBU both retired and active. The new apartment was smaller than his first but it suited him better.

He removed his armour, undid the wrap around his thigh, and stripped so he was standing in nothing but his black boxers and bandana. The bandana came off as he rubbed his head, grabbing a few locks of hair and tugging – the sharp pain reminded him that he was still here, he was still alive and real.

The kettle had boiled, Naruto could hear the switch click; his hearing far more sensitive than was possible for a human. Just one of the perks of having Kurmara as a tenant. Making his way back through to the kitchen, he grabbed a mug, teabag and large bottle of cheap sake that he always kept on the counter. Minutes later and he was feeling much more content.

A knock came at the door and a quick sniff told him that it was Hinata. She must have come from upstairs. Hinata had moved out of her family home soon after the war had finished. She couldn't stand being somewhere that reminded her so much of her cousin Neji, the big brother than she had always dreamed of having being killed right in front of her had shaken her deeply and even three years later she had nightmares.

"Door is open, Hina," Naruto called, taking another swig of his hot drink. Hinata opened the door and stepped inside. She had changed and evidently had a shower, if her soaking wet hair was anything to go by. Dress in a baggy tee-shirt that Naruto was sure had once belonged to him, and a pair of black cotton short shorts. She looked ready for a night of movies and drinking, something which he was sure they would be doing. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Arm hurts like a bitch but it's healed so nothing I can do. Just achy I guess." She gestured to the pale scar that ran down her right arm, from shoulder to elbow. One of the Iwa nins had been a tricky bastard and had managed to get a hit on her before she was able to kill him. While she was an excellent medical-nin, she didn't have the talent that Sakura did and was unable to heal all injuries in the way that the pink haired ninja did.

"Good. I need to go have a shower. Make yourself at home." Naruto smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes, only a slight tug at his lips. He disappeared into his bedroom again, something Hinata was slightly grateful for. Naruto standing there in nothing but his boxers was not good for her heart.

She made her way to the kitchen, picking up the dirty plates that were stacked on Naruto's table beside his mask. She wouldn't wash them for him, but there was no point them just sitting on the table rather than in the sink. She grabbed two cups, the open bottle of sake and walked towards the single sofa. It wasn't much larger than a love seat, and Naruto's television was pathetic but it was the only tele in the building that had a DVD player. Hinata set down the glasses and bottle and proceeded to peruse Naruto's collection of films. He had somehow managed to collect a good few hundred over the years and Hinata loved nothing more than to snuggle up with him and watch one. She decided to pick something funny but childish and couldn't help but pick _Howl's Moving Castle_, a film she had been in love with since she was a small child.

Just as Hinata was putting the DVD into the machine, Naruto walked in, now dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and carrying his duvet, complete with bright orange cover. Hinata smiled and settled on the sofa, waiting for Naruto to sit beside her before pouring two glasses of sake, giving one to Naruto and placing her legs across his so she could lie down. Naruto smiled, gulped his drink down and threw the duvet over the two of them just as the film started.

The next few hours were two teenagers behaving like children and trying to ignore the fact that not everything was peachy, and that a message could come at any moment to tell them that war had been declared. Naruto laughed and did his best to act normal as he massaged Hinata's feet.

'_I am nothing but a tool. Hinata is a weakness. I cannot be allowed to have weaknesses._'

~Thanks for reading :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't actually know where exactly I am going with this story but we will see. If you have any suggestions of things that you would like to happen, then I can try my best to work it into the story as I only have a vague idea of what I am doing :) Also, please excuse my shocking grammar and spelling. i'm dyslexic and don't enjoy proof reading so it takes me a while to notice ever obvious mistakes. X3


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